Lawyers: FBI removed lead agent in corruption case

SAN FRANCISCO — A lead FBI agent in a sting that produced criminal charges against a state senator and 19 other people was removed from the case over unspecified financial improprieties, lawyers for one defendant said.

In court documents filed Thursday, lawyers for defendant Keith Jackson argued that the unidentified FBI agent showed “outrageous” behavior in the sting, including lavishing the probe’s targets with tens of thousands of dollars for lawful actions.

The filing says an internal investigation involving the undercover agent was revealed in a footnote in a 2012 wiretap request in the corruption case. The footnote cited an FBI review “related to the financing and financial record-keeping” by the agent in the Chinatown sting, the filing says.

A second wiretap request in 2013 revealed that the internal FBI probe resulted in the agent being removed from the sting operation, according to the filing by James Brosnahan and other defense attorneys.